Kim Craig
Kimberly Diane "Kim" Craig (née Day) is the moody and immature daughter in the Australian sitcom Kath & Kim, portrayed by Gina Riley. She is known to be a Scorpio (series 2 episode 3 The Moon). Along with her co-star who plays her onscreen mother, Jane Turner who plays Kath Day-Knight, Riley created the series and writes it.[1]
| Kimberly Craig née Day | |
|---|---|
| Kath & Kim character | |
 Gina Riley as Kim Craig at the Kath & Kimderella film premiere | |
| First appearance | Fast Forward |
| Last appearance | Kath & Kim 14 October 2007 Episode 32 |
| Created by | Gina Riley Jane Turner |
| Portrayed by | Gina Riley |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | Kimbo (Brett) Kimmy (Sharon) |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Unemployed Stay At Home Mother Trophy wife 6 months at call centre (formerly, left because of stress...theirs) 2 weeks as a Door Bitch at the Tulip Farm (series 3, formerly, "took a package, literally") |
| Family | Kath Day-Knight (mother) Gary Poole (father) Kel Knight (step father) |
| Spouse | Brett Craig (2002-2012) |
| Children | Epponee Rae (daughter) |
The idea was originally grasped during the nineties while successful Australian shows such as Big Girl's Blouse had skits on them with identical characters of the same name. Kath & Kim aired first on 16 May 2002, and become a hit in Australia and Internationally.
The series ended in 2007. Riley returned to screens as Kim in the film version Kath & Kimderella, which premiered in cinemas in September 2012.[2]
Personality
Physical appearance
Kim is often portrayed as lazy and rude. She is often seen lying down most of the time, shopping or snacking.
Kim often wears short T-shirts which allow her belly to show. Her fashion choices change frequently, at some points she wears comfortable clothing (e.g. baggy pants and a sweatshirt) and the rest of the time obsesses over herself in the mirror and talks about the latest fashion trends, which don't usually flatter her. Kim has long brown hair and always wears make-up. Kim smokes and can be seen in the pantry of their Fountain Lakes Home, scouring it for food (usually which Sharon ends up taking and Kim reacts).
Kim is also seen reading Australian magazines such as New Idea and Famous.
Personal outlook
Kim's outlook on herself appears to vary. She has called herself a "Yummy Mummy!"[3] and most of the time she refers to herself as a "horn-bag" and says that people would kill to be with "this"[referring to herself], however at other points in Kath & Kim she appears as very unhappy with herself and self-conscious of her weight. This is the polar opposite to her mother, Kath, who is extremely happy with her outward appearance and calls herself "high maintenance". Kim, like her mother, is currently unemployed but has a hard time trying to search for a job, let alone keep one, which might explain her constant hiring and firings from the call center.
Relationships
Brett
Brett, Kim's husband is played by Peter Rowsthorn. They were newly married at the start of the series, and Kim left him after a few months, claiming her marriage was "Over! O-V-A-H!". Their relationship can be very superficial. Brett obviously loves Kim and always tries to show her affection; Kim frequently rejects him and usually only shows him affection during the series when she wants something. Brett cheats on her numerous times, however they always reconcile.
In Da Kath & Kim Code, in which Brett cheated on Kim with his boss, Kim reacted bad for a few minutes but seemed to not care later, accepting that her marriage was going nowhere. The affair with his boss continued behind Kim's back. When Brett cheats on Kim with Kylie & Dannii Bolton in the episode "Sport", she reacts heavily and wants revenge on the twins.
Kath
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Kath Day-Knight, Kim's content fifty-year-old mother is played by Riley's co-star and creative Kath & Kim partner, Jane Turner. The relationship between the two is both good and bad. The two often argue about various things, with Kath always referring to Kim as a "stupid girl". Growing up, Kim took advantage of Kath (as they were abandoned by Kim's father and Kath's ex-husband, Gary Poole at the start of Kim's life as a baby). Despite this, Kim continues to take advantage of Kath (but it appears she has no one else to go to besides Kath and maybe her second best friend, Sharon), always running back home to Kath and her new husband Kel, and lives there by the end of the series. During the final season, Kim got to be such a bother to Kath & Kel that they opted to purchase their next-door-neighbour's Mansion like House; but were unsuccessful as no one auctioned to buy their own house.
Sharon
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Sharon Strzelecki, played by popular Australian comedy actress Magda Szubanski who had previously acted in international film, Babe. Sharon is Kim's second best friend. Like her mother, Kim takes advantage of Sharon's friendship and willingness to do absuloutely anything to help her. Sharon is often with Kim "Hanging out" together for the majority of the series (Kim claims she has another best friend, "Tina" who is subsequently never seen during the show). Kim shows little respect or affection for Sharon. When Sharon tried started to share her ideas of finding out who her mother was to get closer to her roots in the episode, "Roots", Season 4 (Where Sharon met her overweight model sister, Karen (Matt Lucas) and Karen bonded with Kim instead of Sharon) Kim laughed at the situation stating "Why would she want to meet you!" to Sharon. When Sharon is seen crying, Kim always comes back with a rude remark, (e.g. when Sharon found out that her fiancee was really just spam on a computer, Kim said "Oh Sharon... I knew you would never get married, I just knew it." Kim is also exceptionally mean to Sharon, often zeroing in on her biggest insecurities such as, her desperation to find a man, her weight and her appearance and then exploiting them. Despite the ups and downs, the two remain friends in an awkward friendship which doesn't echo give-and-take. After Sharon slept with Brett in the Season 4 finale Lust, Kim told her that she's dropping Sharon to her sixth best friend.
Kel
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Kel Knight, Kim's metrosexual stepfather is played by Glenn Robbins. From the beginning of the series (episode 1) Kim had an instant dislike of Kel, due to the fact that Kath & Kim had each other all of their lives without a father/husband figure in place. Kim always suggested that Kel was "using" Kath for some manipulative reasons, however she was proven wrong. Kim and Kel rarely interact, and when they do, the mood goes off and the scene is completely awkward, with one muttering a single word to the other and the other either walking away or trying to give out a grin. Kel is now the focus of Kath's attention which annoys Kim who likes to always be the centre of attention wherever she goes.
Cujo
Cujo is Brett's 75 kilo Rottweiler. Kim has an intense dislike of Cujo and once bit her head for not getting off Kim's bed. Kim also once repeatedly tapped Cujo, so she would jump off Epponnee's pram. Cujo hates Kim as well, during Season 2 Kim taps on the door and says to Cujo, "It's all right Cujo it's just Kimmy," to which Cujo then starts barking at Kim, until she was told by Brett to be quiet.
Education
Due to Kim's lack of commitment, she has never actually completed any of her education (most notably her high school education).
Fountain Lakes High
Kim attended Fountain Lakes High, but dropped out in year 10.
Cake decorating course
She also started a cake decorating course, but didn't complete it (Kath finished her cake for her).
Nail design course
She also started a nail design course, but didn't complete it.
Family
Kim shows no appreciation to her family, often slandering them for mishap. Kim's family with Brett is very dysfunctional. Throughout her pregnancy they faced many problems, most of which were their own creation, such as renovating their house. During the series, Kim's father Gary Poole unexpectedly returned to Melbourne after 25 years in exile in Hong Kong and despite barely knowing her, he was smart enough to play her for a fool by asking for money for ventures. Unwisely believing him, she handed him the money; however she didn't benefit, as it cost her and Brett their marital home to repossession. The couple, along with the daughter, always end up moving back with Kath and Kel, despite the older couple understandably wanting their space.
Kim tried to have Epponnee try out for the Australian Soap Neighbours, however Brett was against it; showing what opposites they are and different directions they want to go in. During an episode which showed the future (it was later revealed it was a part of a dream Kath had), Kim and Brett had divorced and Brett had married Sharon and they had triplets. During the series it has also been told that Brett and Sharon dated prior to Kim's relationship with him. In that episode, Epponnee (played by Kylie Minogue for a one-off portrayal) was getting married and treated Sharon better than Kim.
As a mother
Kim enjoys the idea of being a mother to Epponnee Ray (who was named after a dog, however Kim already thought of this name but Kath stole it), but does not particularly show a lot of responsibility for her. Like most of her relationships, Epponnee Ray has affection lavished on her when she can be useful for something, such as Bubs Idol. Brett is seen more giving affection to their child, and enjoys taking her to work to help boost sales. On rare occasions, Kim will actually yell at the infant, telling her to stop crying so she could hear the television. Kath also is very good with Epponnee, taking care of her on occasions, and creating a nursery for Epponnee just prior to her birth.
Kim believes that Epponnee Rae will be her ticket to a brighter future by grooming her as a performer, despite the fact that Epponnee Rae is not even 6 months old. In fact, during Kath & Kim, she managed to find Epponnee a casting position on the Australian Soap Opera Neighbours, however it failed due to Epponnee Vomiting on Harold Bishop.
Quirks, personality traits and features
Almost every character on the show has their own humorous features and Kim also has a few notable ones. One very recurrent reference; Kim makes to her "best friend" Tina. Tina is mentioned several times by Kim and Kath, being Kim's apparent best friend however has never been seen, and has always had problems and could never show up to Kim's important affairs.
Kim does have weight issues, and acknowledges it on some occasions; but likes believes she is "foxy and trim". Kath usually tries to 'helpfully' point out when Kim is eating unhealthy food, which makes Kim more defensive than usual. Both Kim and Kath like to refer to themselves as "hornbags".
Rude comebacks aimed Sharon are a large part of Kim's humour. Whenever there is a situation in which Sharon cries or breaks down; Kim makes it worse. An example is when Sharon cried about not having any love, Kim responds "I knew you would never get married... but the good news is I'm getting back with Brett,". Kim watches Big Brother Australia often and is glued to the television set, choosing to reprise her duties as a couch potato rather than her duties as a mother.
Kath & Kimderella film premiere
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See also
Other characters
References
- Australia. "Kath & Kim". Onlymelbourne.com.au. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
- Wilson, Ashleigh (2011-03-09). "Kath & Kim in 'filum' debut". The Australian.
- "The Who's Who of Fountain Lakes - Da Kath & Kim Website". Kathandkim.com. 2005-11-18. Archived from the original on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2012-03-25.